Becoming Who You Want To Be

Few things in business are more awkward than having a friend as a debtor who’s not paying. The obvious dilemma is which to put first… your business or your friendship?

Now while you might feel stuck between a rock and a hard place the truth is the greatest threat to your friendship is actually turning a blind eye to the debt. Imagine the impact on your friendship if that un-recovered account in some way contributed to your business hitting the wall.

So while it’s easy to feel guilty asking a friend for money in actual fact it’s your friend who’s backed you and your friendship in to a corner.

Be that as it may it doesnt make it any easier asking for your money back. However, there’s a simple yet powerful strategy to recover your money whilst simultaneously preserving your friendship.

So what is this strategy? Simple. Either in person or in writing say something along the lines of…

“You know how much our friendship means to me and that I would never do anything to jeopardize it. Seeing as my business is going through a rough patch at present the truth is if I don’t ask you to settle your account I’d be putting my business and in turn our friendship at risk. And because I’d absolutely hate for us to fall out over money I’d really appreciate it if you would square me up by the end of the week.”

As long as you say this calmly and empathetically no true friend would begrudge your request for payment.

Having stated your truth, one of four things will happen.

The first and best possible outcome is that they settle their outstanding debt with you. In this scenario you know that a. your friendship is worth something and b. that your business is OK.

The second possible scenario is that your friend confesses that they’re so strapped for cash that they don’t have the means to settle their debt. And while it’s natural to feel for them the harsh reality is that they’re the one whos putting themselves before your friendship.

The third possible outcome is that they tell you where to get off and refuse to pay. In so doing they’ve clearly enunciated “Our friendship doesn’t mean that much to me. In fact I’m only pretending to be your friend so that I can take advantage of your good nature.” And that’s OK. Because at least you now know where you truly stand.

And the fourth possible outcome is that they promise to pay but subsequently don’t. Once again by breaking their word they’ve demonstrated that your friendship is worthless. What’s more they’ve also revealed that they’re also in serious financial strife.

In each of these last three outcomes it’s clear that you’re not going to get your money back on your own. To recover your money and protect your business you need to refer your debt to an external debt collection agency.

Having accepted the fact that you need outside help all that remains for you to decide is how you want to handle your relationship.

Should you want to show your friend some compassion you should definitely seek out a collection agency that provides “Velvet Glove” debt recovery. In essence “Velvet Glove” recovery is a respectful yet assertive approach to recover money in 30 days or less without penalizing you or your friend with collection agency commissions. Using this approach, if they value your friendship they’ll pay up and your friendship wont be irrevocably damaged.

If however despite this “Velvet Glove” approach they continue to default on payment OR they commit either of the last two scenarios above then they’ve forced your hand to take immediate and aggressive steps to recover your money. Let me be very clear… under these circumstances they’ve declared your friendship over and they really don’t care if you and your business sink. As such you need to hit them hard with whats known as an “Iron Fist” approach whereby your debt collection agency goes straight for the jugular.

While this may appear harsh the fact of the matter is if they were a true friend they wouldn’t ask you to risk both your business and your friendship over money. Bottom line: they’ve put you in this situation and given you no other reasonable choice.

To help you recover bad debts from friends who won’t pay The Debt Doctor’s debt recovery blog reveals where to find debt recovery agencies that provide “Velvet Glove” and “Iron Fist” debt recovery.